When it comes to gaming keyboards, it's all about figuring out what gives you that extra edge. For some that means wrist rests, USB ports, smartphone or tablet docks, or an array of macro keys. But what if you want to game without all the fuss? That's where the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum RGB mechanical keyboard ($159.99) comes into play. With a sleek, no-frills design, the G810 is aimed at those who favor a minimalist, yet personalized gaming experience. It shares a number of features with the Editors' Choice Corsair K95 RGB, including media controls and customizable backlighting options, but the K95's abundance of user-friendly options give it the edge for serious gamers.

Design and FeaturesStripped-down and utilitarian, the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum puts its focus firmly on function—no wrist rests, macro keys, or snazzy asymmetrical designs here. If you turn off the backlighting, the G810 passes for a standard keyboard at first glance. Measuring 1.4 by 17.5 by 6 inches (HWD), the G810 is a comfortable size for a typical gaming setup. Although its weight of 2.6 pounds helps keep the keyboard from slipping around, the G810 is probably not something you'd want to lug to a LAN party.

The keyboard's body is made of black plastic, compared with the Corsair K95's aluminum, but the matte finish on the keys and deck give the G810 an air of elegance. The sides of the keyboard sport a glossy sheen, which adds to the sleek look and feel, but after just a few days of testing, the keys easily showed greasy fingerprints.

One area where the G810 really shines—literally—is its backlighting. Each key is individually and centrally lit, so there's no light bleeds between keys. The central lighting is even and consistent, making it easy to read the key labels regardless of viewing angle. The keys also feature a font that, combined with the backlighting, evokes a retro-1980s sci-fi feel.

Like its flashier cousin, the G910 Orion Spark, the G810 features Logitech's proprietary Romer-G switches, but the G810 ditches the G910's sculpted keycap design for smoother versions better suited to everyday typing.

Crafted specifically for gaming, the Romer-G switches actuate at 1.5mm, which Logitech claims is 25 percent shorter and faster than Razer Mechanical (used in the Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma) or the Cherry MX Brown switches (which Logitech uses in its own G610 Orion Brown). Logitech says the keys are tested to withstand 70 million keystrokes, and they do feel quite responsive and tactile. But even if the Romer-Gs are designed to delay the onset of gaming-induced wrist fatigue, they can only do so for so long. While the unobtrusive design of the G810 is attractive, a detachable wrist rest would have gone a long way for long-session gamers. In terms of ergonomics, the keyboard has two sets of legs that you can pop out if you want to type at 4 or 8 degrees.

You also get standalone media control keys, including the standard Play/Pause, Stop, Forward, and Backward; a handy wheel to control volume; and a global Mute button. But their flatness in relation to their location above the number pad can sometimes feel awkward when you're trying to quickly start, mute, pause, or skip to the next song. Also present is a key for disabling the Windows key, so you don't accidentally exit your game at a crucial moment, and a backlight button for turning off the lights when you don't need or want them.

Performance and PersonalizationThe thing about a simple design is that you're shining a spotlight on performance. On that front, the G810 performs well while gaming. The keys are responsive, and the 26-key rollover ensures that there's no problem using multiple keys simultaneously for more subtle movements or more complex key combinations. The keys can also take a bit of pounding without sticking—good news if, like me, you tend to play a lot of button-mashers. But when it comes to everyday typing, that Romer-G responsiveness can take a little getting used to. This just might be a personal typing quirk, but I found myself making more errors than usual when shooting off quick emails (or even writing this review).

The keyboard comes preloaded with 300 game-specific lighting profiles that take advantage of the per-key lighting, and hundreds more are available for download. There are also three preprogrammed lighting modes: Freestyle, Zones, or Effects. With Freestyle, you can configure each key with its own color (from any of 16.8 million possibilities). The Zones mode is an easy, quick-start lighting option that lets you light certain key groups common to gaming—the WASD keys, arrow keys, modifier keys (Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Windows), the F1-F12 keys (standing in for the macro keys)—and highlights them in different colors; you can edit these zones, create new ones, or select custom colors.

Finally, the Effects mode has six preset custom lighting effects. I found Color Wave and Color Cycle (the only two with colors you can't change) pretty to look at, but watching my keyboard constantly undulate with all the colors of the rainbow was very distracting in normal use and useless for gaming. Even if you slow down the speed of the effect, it's still too much. That said, I found that Key Press, which briefly changes the color of the keys you hit, added a bit of fun to everyday typing.

For all of this personalization, you need to download and install the Logitech Gaming Software. Overall, it's fairly simple to use. There are clearly separated tabs for different functions, and assigning hotkeys for various games is easy when there are nearly 600 titles to choose from and more are constantly being added. Programming the function keys is as easy as dragging a command from a list onto the key itself. Another nifty feature: If you want to learn more about the way you game, or even type, you can also record and track which keys you use the most. Our gripes: The interface for changing custom colors can be counterintuitive at times—although there is a clearly visible color wheel, simply clicking on it will not change the color of the keys; and to access one of the preloaded game profiles, you must click the blue arrow in the upper-right corner in the Lighting tab to enable per-profile lighting.

ConclusionIf you're looking to buy a customizable, high-performance gaming keyboard that's unobtrusive yet stylish, then the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum is worth considering. But it might be too minimalist in design and functionality for hard-core gamers, as it lacks dedicated macro keys and a wrist rest. At $149.99, it's also bit pricier than the Corsair Strafe Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, which also features a minimalist design and customizable per-key backlighting. The G810's strengths are its high-performance keys and customizable lighting, but these are also features available on the Corsair K95 RGB. Even though the K95 costs an extra $40, its extra macro keys, aluminum body, and detachable wrist rest keep it our Editors' Choice gaming keyboard.

About the Author

Victoria Song is the wearables and smart home analyst at PCMag. Since graduating from Temple University?s Japan Campus in 2010, she's been found reporting and editing in every corner of the newsroom at The ACCJ Journal, The Japan News, and New York bureau of The Yomiuri Shimbun. In her spare time, she bankrupts herself going to theater, buying expa... See Full Bio

Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum

Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum

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